The Misery House
The House on the Hill #1
by David Kummer

Sometimes the quietest little towns are haunted by the darkest secrets.

The first of three books. This psychological thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat.

New Haven: This rural town has never seen a string of tragedies like this. A local store burns to the ground with two bodies inside. A newlywed couple goes missing, and all signs point to the abandoned house. With no answers, the townsfolk grow more and more worried.

The Woods family has lived in New Haven for years. When Kaia’s best friend is a victim, the nightmare becomes personal. The Woods family needs answers, but they’ll have to face their own past.

Time is running out, and if they fail the house will take everything from them.

The Misery House is a chilling, suspenseful novel that will keep you guessing until the very end and set the stage for an epic three-book haunting. With its twists and turns, this page-turner will keep you up late into the night.

Can the Woods family hold together? Will they unravel the mystery behind the house on the hill, or is it too late to save their town?

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Lily:  Thank you so much for dropping by to chat David, first I’d like to talk about your new release The Misery House, then we can dive into your mind! What inspired you to write this?

David Kummer:  I have been writing thrillers and horror novels for about 8 years, ever since I was in high school. This book is the next step, because it’s part of a series, and I’ve never written one before. I took some classic horror tropes, like the haunted house, but I wanted to twist those tropes. So it’s all about seeing things in a new way. There are some strong emotional pulls in the story, too, and a focus on the family at the center of it.

Lily: It sounds like it’s going to be an amazing read. Would you spend a night in the house at the center of it all?

David Kummer:  Maybe if they got a new bed… The house isn’t kept in good shape, since it’s “abandoned.” But if someone got a new (clean) bed, I’d try it, sure.

Lily:  Yeah, I don’t know how I feel about staying in a place that run down without somewhere clean to sleep. What would you do if you found yourself in Kaia’s position, with your BFF becoming a victim of the strange happenings?

David Kummer: I don’t even know. Hopefully, the police would be more helpful than in the book. I think Kaia’s response is pretty brave, despite it harming her, and I’m excited to deal with the aftermath of everything in Book 2. She’s definitely my favorite character in the whole series.

Lily:  I can’t wait to meet her! She sounds like a great MC. If readers take away one thing from the book, what do you hope it is?

David Kummer:  I hope readers can appreciate the family in the book and what they’re dealing with. There are people in the book taking advantage of others because of prejudice or power dynamics. I wanted to show characters who overcome the odds and everything against them, sort of an inspiration for readers. It’s also meant to be a lot of fun. It’s a pretty twisty, mysterious plot building throughout the whole series.

Lily:  That’s a wonderful takeaway. Now we’d like to talk about you as a writer. Are you a plotter or a pantser?

David Kummer:  Very much a plotter. I have the whole series (three books) planned out already, and I’ve been writing Book 2 while doing the promotions and campaigns for this book.

Lily:  That’s awesome! I know readers often want to read the rest of the books in a series soon after book one. Do you prefer to handwrite, type, or dictate your first draft?

David Kummer: I type it out on my laptop. I’ve got two or three specific spots in my apartment, so I do all my writing in those spots. Usually with a cat climbing on me.

Lily:  Hehe cats make everything better, and it’s nice you have a few spots you can sit down and write. Is it harder to write or edit your first draft?

David Kummer:  They’re both pretty hard. It kind of depends on the book. This book and the sequel were really hard first drafts, but other books are really hard to edit.

Lily:  That makes sense, and I can see how a series might be harder on the first draft. Let’s finish up with some fun questions and get inside your mind. Would you rather be able to fly or breathe underwater? What would be the first thing you do with your new power?

David Kummer: Definitely fly. If I could do ziplining basically but with no fear of falling, then I’d be doing that all day. I would be scared of running into planes, though… But I’d get to work faster. 

Lily:  It would definitely save a lot of time on the commute, and I like the idea of being able to do things from heights without the fear of falling. Is there a place you’d like to visit, but haven’t yet? What’s one thing you’d like to do there?

David Kummer: I want to travel overseas at some point to England or Europe. My wife and I went out west to Washington and got married there, so now Europe is first on the travel bucket list.

Lily:  That sounds like it would make for a great vacation. What do you like to do to unwind?

David Kummer:  During the school year, I’m pretty busy teaching high school English, so in the summers I travel some and go to music festivals. Throughout the whole year, I run a few times a week and enjoy going to sports events, especially with my dad and brothers.

Lily:  Your summers must be a lot of fun! Do you have a favorite holiday?

David Kummer:  Halloween is my favorite, definitely. But Christmas has been gaining ground.

Lily:  Halloween is my favorite as well. How can readers discover more about you and your work?

David Kummer:  They can check out my website where I also review horror movies. I also talk about my writing, my cats, and other random stuff on social media, so add me on those!